One Day in Ancient Rome
by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: There was a girl riding a pink Vespa down the street. Ordinarily this wouldn’t particularly have caught Rose’s attention, but as she was standing in ancient Rome at the time the Vespa rather stood out... Complete.


**Title**: One Day In Ancient Rome

**Author:** TardisIsTheOnlyWaytoTravel

**Story Summary:** There was a girl riding a pink Vespa down the street. Ordinarily this wouldn't particularly have caught Rose's attention, but as she was standing in ancient Rome at the time the Vespa rather stood out.

**Author note:**

_Originally this was on my livejournal._

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**ONE DAY IN ANCIENT ROME**

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There was a girl riding a pink Vespa down the street.

Ordinarily this wouldn't particularly have caught Rose's attention, but as she was standing in ancient Rome at the time the Vespa rather stood out.

As Rose gaped, the Vespa breezed past, giving her an excellent opportunity for a better view of the vehicle and its passengers.

The girl driving it was about ten, although Rose often found it hard to tell in other cultures and times, with striking dark red hair. Behind was a smaller, blonde child clinging to her back and complaining.

"–_pink's just embarrassing, I like tangerine better–"_

The children might have been carelessly driving around Rome on a machine that wouldn't be invented for about another two thousand years, but they'd both taken the time to don helmets.

Rose stared at the rapidly-retreating Vespa for another moment, then turned to find the Doctor.

As an anachronistic madman himself, she felt he could deal better with the kids then she could.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor turned around with an inquiring look on his face.

"Doctor, two kids on a Vespa just drove down the main street."

"What?" The Doctor asked incredulously. "Rose–"

"You heard me, a Vespa. It was pink."

"Kids after your own heart," the Doctor muttered, and sighed. "Alright, we'd better find them, last thing we need is two kids on a piece of twentieth century technology riding around."

It was like a scavenger hunt, Rose thought as they wandered around the city, asking people if they'd seen two children on a strange wheeled contraption. Someone told you something, and you went in that direction until you found the next people who could give you a clue.

Eventually they caught up with the Vespa to see the children standing next to it, the elder looking displeased, the younger resigned, while in front of them stood a man in magistrate's robes.

"Oh blimey," the Doctor muttered under his breath. "We need to get them out of this somehow. In this day and age a magistrate could beat to death or murder out of hand anyone he felt deserved it."

They moved unobtrusively closer, until they were able to hear what the man was saying.

"You are a disgrace to the people of Rome," the man said severely and angrily in a rather nasal voice, although Rose noted with relief that he didn't look as though he wanted to harm the two girls, "with your dangerous and outlandish device–"

He halted as in a fast, fluid gesture the older girl put a hand up and pinched the top of her nose.

"_You are a disgrace to the people of Rome_," the girl echoed, perfectly mimicking the man's harsh, nasal tones.

Rose stared in fascinated horror. Didn't the girl have any sense of self-preservation?

For some reason a fleeting memory of the Doctor blatantly insulting a bunch of aliens who had taken them captive popped into her mind. She shook her head to dislodge it.

The littler girl rolled her eyes in furious resignation.

"You're a pain!" she yelled, hitting her sister.

The girls words came out in Latin, in the accent that belonged to Rome's nobility, which was presumably why the magistrate hadn't done anything to either of them yet. He looked like he was reconsidering that though.

"Ow!" Mild blue eyes looked down at the younger girl in faintly pained reproach. She just glared back with eyes black with disapproval.

"Tempia! Tempia Seconda!" the Doctor said furiously, striding forward. "How dare you speak to the magistrate that way!"

The two girls turned in surprise at the sound of his voice, and strangely enough, paled.

"Now we're in trouble," the blonde girl muttered, _sotto voce_.

The Doctor grabbed the older girl roughly by the upper arm.

"How dare you show such disrespect!" he hissed. He turned to the magistrate. "I apologise for my daughters' insolence and inclination towards causing trouble. They shall be beaten severely."

The magistrate let the three of them go, dragging the Vespa with them. Rose joined them as they went. Once they had turned into a smaller street and were out of sight, the Doctor relaxed and let go the grip on the older girl's arm.

"Told you we'd be in trouble," said the small blond girl, in glum tones mixed with self-righteous satisfaction. She looked up at Rose and the Doctor gloomily. "Didn't know'd be double trouble, though."

The older girl's eyes were a clear, mild blue, rather incongruous with her outrageous behaviour. The little blonde girl's eyes, on the other hand, were a stormy, deep dark brown that matched her innocent appearance just as oddly.

"What were you doing, riding around on a Vespa like that?" the Doctor demanded in disbelieving frustration.

"That's what I'd like to know," said a cool voice.

All four of them whirled.

The newcomer's hair was the same dark red as the older girl's, with a slight wave in it. He was fairly tall, and his glass-green eyes did not hold a welcoming expression.

Behind him stood, quite a bit older but indubitably, Rose, looking thunderous.

The Doctor and Rose gaped at the pair.

"Wasn't me," proclaimed the smaller child.

"You liar," said the older one scornfully. "You're like Lady Macbeth, egging me on. Wouldn't've thought of it if it weren't for you. You come up with stuff, I get in trouble for it."

The redheaded Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose, looking exasperated. He turned to the current Doctor.

"What happened?"

"We fought the law, and the law won," the older girl quipped. She subsided at Other Rose's look.

"Then younger you and younger Mum rescued us," the younger girl chipped in happily.

"You," older Rose said in furious tones, "are both in big trouble. Pull another stunt like this and I'm taking your new Blondie CD and your train set."

"No!" howled the little blonde girl. "Not my train set!"

"Suze," Other Doctor said warningly. She subsided, with an expression that suggested she'd been greatly wronged.

"We should get these two back to the TARDIS," Other Doctor said to the current Rose and Doctor. "Thanks for rescuing them. Cheerio."

Other Rose gave a brief, genuine smile before turning back to her errant children. As the four walked away, Rose could hear her older self scolding them wrathfully.

Rose and the Doctor were left looking at each other, nonplussed, and somewhat uncomfortable.

They could pretend this had never happened, Rose thought. She could let the Doctor open his mouth rush off on one of his overcrammed sentences, and then they'd be running for their lives and this'd all be just one of those weird things.

"D'you love me?" Rose asked instead, earnestly and with deadly seriousness.

The Doctor froze like a frightened deer, eyes wide, mouth open. Rose could have sworn his ears were almost twitching.

He stayed frozen, mind clearly whirring away, his eyes conflicted. Rose waited, and never looked away.

"Do you love me?" he asked, finally.

Rose stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling horribly self-conscious about it.

"Does this answer that question?"

She kissed him.

The Doctor's automatically came up around her and pulled her closer.

They broke apart a moment later.

The Doctor took Rose's hand in his and grinned, euphoric and slightly nervous.

"Glad that's sorted."

Rose grinned in absolute agreement.

Together they went back to exploring Rome.

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**FIN**

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End file.
